Life is an adventure and it is one worth sharing

A Letter To Great Gran

I always had this thing against calling you ‘Great Gran’ as I thought you wouldn’t like it, the reason being it made you sound super old and according to Mum, women didn’t like being old. But I also thought it made me sound really young, and in a way, I didn’t like that because I wanted to be older, more grown up.

Remembering my childhood always includes a fond memory of you. I would be eager to come and see you just so that I could come and pick some flowers from your beautiful garden. Looking back, I can imagine you were probably freaking out that I would pick the best flower in the garden, the one that you had spent the most time caring for. But not once did you tell me that I couldn’t have this flower, and I couldn’t have that flower. You were willing to let me pick any flower, with some helpful guidance of course, just to see the smile on my face when I presented the bunch lovingly to Mum or to Nan.

I must have really annoyed Nan and depleted her baking stock over the years because every time I knew we were coming to see you, I would always insist that you needed some fruit muffins or a little cupcake. Grandad was always happy with this, however, because he knew that only one or two of the batch would make it down to you and the rest would be left at home for him to nibble on.

Christmas was always the most challenging season of all; I never knew what to get you. If I got you a tin of biscuits, you would probably try and give it back to me, insisting that I needed it more than you did, even if the tin did have a lovely pattern on it. But you would always tell me that my money would be better spent on someone else, you didn’t need anything – just a smile when we came to see you would be plenty.

I will always admire the heart that you had for looking after others. Even when I came to look after you for a week when Nan and Grandad were on holiday, you wouldn’t let me make us lunch because it was your job. I would always be woken up with a cup of tea in bed, because you said it was a week off that I needed to relax. I wasn’t complaining, but it made me laugh. However, I have to admit that I have not eaten another turkey sandwich since then. There are only so many one can eat in the space of a week!

Although I am going to miss taking a trip to see you and picking tomatoes from your greenhouse, I know that you are much better off now than you ever were. Your love for Jesus was evident in so many ways and I pray that I can be like that too. And because you loved Jesus, you are now free of sickness and pain and tears. You can dance again, in fact, you have a whole new body! It is something I know you have been looking forward to for a very long time.

I love you loads Gran, and I am so privileged to have spent so many years with you.